Wednesday, December 09, 2009

A Manuscript Coming True

I've been neglecting this blog this Fall because I've had a hard time balancing writing my manuscript while also writing for my blogs (this one and dormwife).

My writing time happens in the margins of my life, during nap time or after bedtime and only after the chores are finished and my grading and lesson plans are done. With that said, the book which has existed in my mind as a shadow this last three years is finally becoming a reality in my computer, with a foreseeable end in sight!

I am so thrilled to be at this spot on the long hike up the mountain called "writing a book", because I feel like I can finally look out and see how far I've come and enjoy the view a bit. There is still alot of rewriting to do, but the bulk, structure and narrative arc are complete. Is it a masterpiece? Certainly not. Is it good? Probably not, but I don't mind. The thing I'm most excited about is that this vision of mine is becoming real!

I wanted to share this with you because you have been so generous to read the stuff I put up here and other places. You've been so encouraging and I realize that you are the ones most likely to read this thing when it is done.

So I wanted to let you be a part of the journey and to tell you - THANK YOU! Thank you. The time you give to read any two words I put together is a gift and I do not take it for granted!

I have met with a writing consultant at the university where I teach who has been so encouraging and has offered to help me make the connections I need in submitting the book proposal. I am so grateful for this little bit of light on the next few steps I need to take.

Samantha - Absolutely! I should post one of the chapters shouldn't I? Okay, I'll do it! The working Title is: Sunset Over Los Angeles: A Story about Being Twenty, Moving to LA, and Growing Up. It is a work of Creative Nonfiction, so not straight nonfiction and also not fiction. I'll put up a sample chapter next week. Thanks for being interested!

Terry - You have been such an encouragement in this process! Thank you!